I have invented a unique dishwasher powered solely by hot water flowing from a kitchen faucet. The dishwasher is designed to fit into a conventional kitchen sink and to wash the dishes and silverware used by one or two people during a meal. It is also designed so that when not in use, the entire dishwasher can be quickly disconnected and stored into a space of less than 1.2 cubic feet.
Water powered dishwashers have been proposed for many years. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,244,301; 3,385,306; 3,773,060; 3,926,668; 3,934,822 and 4,298,015. However, so far as I am aware, water powered dishwashers have not been successfully marketed.
By a radically different arrangement of the liquid detergent dispensing means and the rotatable spray arm, I have simplified the construction and improved the operation of water powered dishwashers. Less energy of the moving water is dissipated in rotating the spray arm and hence more water pressure is available for washing the dishes. An exactly metered quantity of liquid detergent is fed into the wash water during the initial washing cycle and when the liquid detergent is exhausted, a clear hot water rinsing cycle automatically follows.
All the user of my dishwasher has to do is load the dirty dishes and silverware into the dishwasher, add the desired amount of liquid detergent into the liquid detergent dispenser, put the cover onto the dishwasher, and turn on the hot water faucet. Then, when the dishwasher has gone through its sudsy water washing cycle and its clear hot water rinsing cycle, the user turns off the hot water faucet and allows the dishes and silverware to drain into the sink and air dry.
My dishwasher consists of three major sub-assemblies: a four-sided plastic base; a vinyl covered wire dishrack which fits inside the base and to which is attached the rotatable spray arm, the liquid detergent dispenser, and hose and piping leading from the water faucet to the spray arm; and a clear plastic cover which fits into a series of flanges in the upper rim of the base. The clear plastic cover is designed so that when it is inverted, the base and dishrack resting inside the base can be fitted into the inverted cover, thus requiring little storage space when not in use.
Other features which reduce its cost and increase its convenience are: the base has no bottom and instead water drains from the dishes directly into the sink, and almost all parts of the dishwasher are made of plastic material such as styrene which is relatively light in weight, totally rustproof, and economical to manufacture.